Indians most savvy about using customer support tech: American Express Survey

Indians are more open to using digital and interactive customer service tools across sectors than those in eight other markets, as per a survey by American ExpressNeha Alawadhi | ET Bureau | Updated: March 22, 2017, 08:53 IST

Indians are more open to using digital and interactive customer service tools across sectors than those in eight other markets, a survey showed, although a greater number of them prefer to speak to a real person.

According to the findings of the American Express 2017 Global Customer Service Barometer, 30% of the consumers in India are ready to use messaging tools such as live chats and SMS compared with Hong Kong and Italy (with 26% each) and Mexico (25%).

“Customer service is the most important factor that customers look at in choosing to do business with a company ,“ Pradeep Kapur, senior vice-president, American Express Global Servicing Network ­ Japan and Asia Pacific, told ET.

The survey covered 1,000 consumers, aged 18 and above, in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Italy, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore between December and January . It found that 84% of Indian consumers considered the quality of customer service very important while deciding to become or remain a customer.

“It's quite contrarian to normal thinking, where we would put product in the first place,“ Kapur said.

In terms of social media, 73% of Indian consumers post more about positive service experiences and 64% of them have used social channels for customer care, the highest in all markets surveyed. While 39% of Indians are open to using self-service tools such as apps, kiosks and voice assisted facilities, 44% still showed a strong preference to speak with a real person.

“Increasingly in India, social media as a way of conveying company's intent on service is becoming increasingly important,“ said Kapur, adding that there is however, a need to balance digital channels with manual ones.

The survey found that 96% of Indians tell as many as 38 people about their good experiences at least sometimes and talk more about their positive experience (59%) than those in other markets.

“Even though consumers believe that companies are increasing their focus on good service, we can't relax,“ said Kapur. “More than six in 10 Indians will chose not to complete a business transaction or make a purchase because of poor customer service. The stakes have never been higher for delivering outstanding service experience.“